Steve and I got to take some time playing co-op on Donkey Kong Country Returns today. Aside from the initial shock that we had amidst its announcement earlier at the Nintendo Media Briefing I was extremely pleased with the overall product available on the E3 show floor. Garnering classic Donkey Kong Country 2D gameplay coupled with beautiful 2.5D aesthetics, the game also added a few extra features to bolster the platforming experience. For instance, the first notable addition is the inclusion of 2-player co-op in the vein of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Players can take control of either Diddy or Donkey Kong and this allows for easier completion of levels at the risk of losing multiple lives (if you die, you can press 1 to come back in a barrel as long as you have a life and then shake the Wii Remote to make the barrel move slowly towards the other player).
There weren’t many noticeable gameplay changes aside from Diddy’s handy jet pack. However, there were many different items strewn throughout the level to collect including puzzle pieces, banana coins, the letters for KONG, the typical bananas, and of course bonus levels (sort of like a collectible because they’re difficult to find). I loved the way gameplay occurred both in the background and foreground and in different directions according to the level design while maintaining entirely 2D gameplay throughout.
There were four levels available on the show floor and we played two. You can check out a video of us playing the mine cart level here. We definitely noticed that the game was about as difficult as the original in many cases (and probably more difficult than we experienced with New Super Mario Bros. Wii). We’re extremely excited to see more and will keep you updated throughout the show if we get a chance to play any more levels. Also look forward to seeing a video of the other level we played soon.
